Peter Johns, the outgoing (in every sense) Director of Slot Operations at MGM Macau completes his gardening leave at the end of next week, prior to starting in his new post as Vice President of Electronic Gaming at Galaxy Macau.
Galaxy Macau, the new Cotai resort from Galaxy Entertainment Group, isn’t due to open until the end of the first quarter next year. The opening may possibly spill over into the second quarter because of Macau’s construction labour bottlenecks. That hiatus means there’s less risk of MGM Macau’s VIP slot players (of which Mr Johns says there is a healthy number) migrating with him.
He will, however, take with him to Galaxy Macau some insight into MGM Resorts International’s very successful customer loyalty programme. Mr Johns reportedly adapted that successfully for the Macau market. He told a conference session at G2E Asia in June that he and his team at MGM Macau had managed to sign up more than 50% of slots players for carded play—well above the Macau market average. He also suggested that on his watch, slot play at MGM Macau was accounting each month for at least 20% and sometimes 30% of mass-market revenue.
That will be music to the ears of his new employers. They have conceived Galaxy Macau as a venue with significant mass-market appeal to complement the VIP focus of StarWorld and the City Clubs.
Nathan Carle, Slot Operations Manager at MGM Macau, is due to step up to Mr Johns’ former role.
